Bishop Serratelli visited the classrooms of the new Divine Mercy Academy in Rockaway Sept. 20 for the first time, after serving as main celebrant and homilist of the 8 a.m. Mass in Hayes Hall of St. Cecilia Church, also in Rockaway, as the church building undergoes renovations.

For 25 years, Tom Riles has carried a stack of index cards in his shirt pocket. On the cards, in his neat, all-caps handwriting, Riles scrawled scripture verses and affirming quotes in blue and black and red ink to inspire him throughout his day.That’s because 25 years ago, Tom Riles had a bad attitude. After being rejected for a job scraping gum off the sidewalks with a power washer in his then-hometown in New Jersey because of his attitude, Riles realized something needed to change.

﻿﻿Bishop Serratelli made a pastoral visit to St. Margaret of Scotland Parish in Morristown Sept. 25 to celebrate the vigil Mass for the 26th Sunday of Ordinary Time. During the Mass, the Bishop administered the Sacrament of Confirmation to high school students, who prepared to make their Confirmation for the past two years through St. Margaret’s Confirmation preparation program.

﻿﻿As students begin religious education classes at the start of the new school year — many preparing for the Sacrament of Con­firmation — Bishop Serratelli met with second-year Confirmation candidates at Pope John XXIII High School here Sept. 25. In the Paterson Diocese, Confirmation preparation begins in the freshman year of high school and the Confirmandi receive the sacrament at the end of sophomore year or beginning of junior year. Last year for the first time, the Bishop met with the young people who will receive the Sacrament of Confirmation at various locations in the three counties of the Diocese.

Father John Kartje remembers as young boy lying on the hood of his father’s car in Chicago and staring up with fascination at the stars and planets that dot the night sky. Today Father Kartje, rector of Mundelein Seminary in the Archdiocese of Chicago, still holds onto that insatiable sense of wonder. The priest visited St. Paul Inside the Walls in Madison Sept. 14 to speak about how his curiosity about the heavens drove him to earn a doctorate in astrophysics in his 20s. He also spoke at the diocesan evangelization center’s latest Speaking of Faith event about how meaningful interactions with people as an Extraordinary Minister of the Eucharist inspired him to look to heaven.

On Sept. 18, Bishop Serratelli helped close the 30th anniversary celebrations of St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Parish — a dynamic, rural faith community in Flanders that has been undergoing a spiritual revitalization recently and has experienced continued growth over its short history that has far exceeded expectations —from 200 families at its founding to more than 1,600 today.

For the last few years, Diocesan Catholic Charities has been in the forefront of assisting U.S. military veterans who now find themselves in need of social services. Catholic Family and Community Services (CFCS), an agency of Catholic Charities in Paterson, has been reaching out to veterans for whatever their needs might be — from helping them avoid becoming homeless to advocating for a new veterans’ clinic in a rural area of the Diocese.

As the Church’s Jubilee of Mercy heads toward its completion in November, Pope Francis is taking every opportunity to reflect on the theme of the Jubilee of Mercy: “Merciful like the Father.” He told pilgrims at his general audience last week that to be “merciful like the Father” is not just “a slogan for effect, but a life commitment.” Think about that — a lifelong commitment.

During the golden jubilee Mass for Sister of Charity Merris Larkin, principal of Assumption School, Msgr. John Hart, pastor and celebrant of the Mass in Assumption Church Sept. 16, asked students “What are the ways Sister Merris shows us the face of Jesus?” Hands immediately popped up in the air to answer the pastor’s question. One student answered, “She always comes to our classes and says hello.” Another answered, “She makes us smile, knows everyone’s name and who we are.”

﻿Dressed in “barong Tagalog,” the native formal attire of the Philippines, Filipino American Catholics from all three counties of the diocese joined together to celebrate a feast day Mass for their country’s two saints — St. Lorenzo Ruiz and St. Pedro Calungsod, both martyrs, in St. Clare Church in Clifton Sept. 17.

B﻿﻿﻿ishop Serratelli celebrated Mass for the 25th Sunday in Ordinary Time Sept. 18 on the campus of William Paterson University (WPU) in the Prince of Peace Chapel in Haledon. Many students at William Paterson (WPU) who participate in campus ministry activities attended the Mass, which was followed by a question and answer session with the Bishop.

﻿﻿On Sept. 15 in St. Peter the Apostle Church in Parsippany, Bishop Serratelli called 18 men ito candidacy for the permanent diaconate. Over the next four years, these men will receive theological and pastoral formation and upon completion will be ordained as deacons. The Rite of Candidacy is the first official recognition of the positive signs of a man’s vocation to the Diaconate.

﻿Buzz! Buzz! The alarm sounds, piercing the quiet 4 a.m. world of the McTighe household in Riverdale Sept. 4. Eleven-year-old Sarah McTighe — rather cheery for this early hour of the morning — shuts off the alarm and heads downstairs. Excited, the sixth-grader from Holy Spirit School here turns on the TV to watch Mother Teresa step out of the pages of a class report that she had written and into Church history as Pope Francis canonizes her a saint — live from St. Peter’s Square in Rome.

Most girls love to play with dolls — feeding them, dressing them and rocking them to sleep. And they often love when these dolls — especially those who are girls — resemble them. But what if a little girl has no hair on her head — an unpleasant side effect of her chemotherapy treatment for cancer?

﻿As tens of thousands witnessed the canonization of Mother Teresa of Calcutta Sept. 4, some of those in St. Peter’s Square in Rome hailed from the Paterson Diocese. The historic canonization by Pope Francis happened 19 years after the death of the Missionary of Charity, who devoted her life working with the sick and poor in India and around the world.

In his message for the World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation, Sept. 1, Pope Francis announced that he was adding the care of creation as a complement to the works of mercy. “We usually think of the works of mercy individually and in relation to a specific initiative: hospitals for the sick, soup kitchens for the hungry, shelters for the homeless, schools for those to be educated, the confessional and spiritual direction for those needing counsel and forgiveness,” he said.

Marie Mullaney, Ph.D., a professor of women’s history and the history of Catholicism in America at Caldwell University, was a guest on Relevant Radio on the broadcast on September 16, 2016. Dr. Mullaney discussed the impact of Religious Sisters on American Life. Dr. Mullaney has also lectured at Saint Paul Inside the Walls. Click to hear the radio broadcast.

Bishop Serratelli made a pastoral visit to Holy Trinity Church here Sept. 11, the 24th Sunday in Ordinary Time. During his visit, the Bishop celebrated the 10 a.m. Mass with Father Antonio Rodriguez, pastor, who is fluent in German, Spanish and English.

This past August, with the support of their faith community, the Guatemala Outreach ministry of Notre Dame of Mount Carmel Church in Cedar Knolls completed its mission of building four more homes (for a total of 16 built on behalf of their parish since 2014) for four families in the village of Sumpango, Guatemala.